Lorgat looks set to be up to speed for ICC job

Haroon Lorgat, the former convenor of South African selectors, seemed set on Wednesday to be offered the job of chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The 48-year-old met ICC president Ray Mali and president-elect David Morgan in Cape Town and said he expected an announcement from the world body by the weekend.

"We had a good meeting and I suppose it could be said that the ICC have made a proposition to me. I indicated my willingness to accept," said Lorgat.

A chartered accountant, Lorgat served as treasurer of the United Cricket Board of South Africa before he was appointed convenor of selectors in 2004. He held the post until 2007.

Lorgat said the ICC "needs to complete the process of appointing the next chief executive" but said he expected an announcement before the weekend.

"It is certainly a very exciting prospect for me," he added.

Lorgat was a partner in a major international accountancy firm before recently setting up a consultancy partnership.

Mali and Morgan will need to consult their fellow members of a four-man recruitment commit - Indian cricket president Sharad Pawar and Australian cricket chairman Creagh O'Connor - before making a recommendation to the ICC board.

Lorgat is the second South African to be targeted for the job. Imtiaz Patel, chief executive of the SuperSport television company and like Lorgat a South African of Asian descent, turned down an offer earlier this week.

The new chief executive will take over from Australian Malcolm Speed after the ICC annual conference which takes place between June 29 and July 4.

Lorgat was one of the leading allrounders in the nonracial SA Cricket Board, which played in opposition to the mainly white SA Cricket Union before the formation of the United Cricket Board in 1991. He was an opening batsman and medium-paced bowler.

He played club cricket for five years in the unified system but said unity came too late for him to play at a higher level.

"I was already on the wrong side of 30 and was busy establishing my professional career. Unity came ten years too late for me," he said in an interview soon after his appointment as convenor of selectors.